Week 2 AFL Matchups: Battle of the Unbeatens Set Stage for Week 2
Published on April 20, 2018 under Arena Football League (AFL) News Release
LAS VEGAS - The two-time defending ArenaBowl champion Philadelphia Soul (1-0) will raise their 2017 championship banner when the Baltimore Brigade (1-0) pay a visit on Saturday, April 21 at 7 p.m. ET at Wells Fargo Center on CBS Sports Network. The Soul are coming off a convincing 56-35 win against the Albany Empire. Baltimore held off the Washington Valor last week to win 61-56 in the Brigade's home opener. Philadelphia is led by 2015 AFL MVP Dan Raudabaugh who threw his 700th touchdown pass of his career and become only the ninth player in League history to reach the milestone last week. The Brigade are being led by 2017 AFL MVP Randy Hippeard. Hippeard had a great debut with the Brigade, throwing five touchdowns and rushing for two touchdowns. Last season, Baltimore beat Philadelphia 49-42 on July 8 and Philadelphia's lone loss of the 2017 season.
WEEK 2 MATCHUP
BALTIMORE BRIGADE (1-0) AT PHILADELPHIA SOUL (1-0)
Saturday, April 21 at 7 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)
BALTIMORE PHILADELPHIA
REG. SEASON SERIES LEADER Philadelphia leads 3-1
STREAKS W1 W1
LAST WEEK W 61-56 vs. Valor W 56-35 at Empire
LAST REG. SEASON MEETING 7/29/17 Soul 70 at Brigade 21
TOTAL OFFENSE (RANK) 270.0 (2) 228.0 (T-3)
TOTAL DEFENSE (RANK) 228.0 (T-1) 296.0 (4)
POINTS SCORED (RANK) 61.0 (1) 56.0 (T-2)
POINTS ALLOWED (RANK) 56.0 (T-2) 35.0 (1)
TURNOVER MARGIN (RANK) +1 (2) +2 (1)
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: BRIGADE: Baltimore QB Randy Hippeard picked up right where he left off his 2017 AFL MVP season...In his debut as a member of the Brigade, Hippeard completed 22-of-31 passes for 240 yards and five TDs along with rushing for six yards and two TDs...Hippeard's performance earned him Offensive Player of the Week for Week 1... Hippeard has an arsenal of wide receivers to target this season...Seven-year AFL veteran WR Brandon Thompkins returns for a second season with the Brigade along with WRs Milton Williams and Brandon Collins...Last season, the trio combined for 1,172 yards for 20 TDs... Adding to the trio, are newly acquired WRs Kendrick Ings and Quentin Sims...All five WRs recorded a receiving TD in last week's 61-56 win over the Valor...Newly-acquired DB Joe Powell joins the Brigade after spending the 2017 AFL season with the Buffalo Bills...In his Brigade debut, Powell recorded five solo tackles and one fumble recovery...SOUL: Philadelphia is being led in their title defense by QB Dan Raudabaugh...Raudabaugh threw for 236 yards on 22-of-37 passing with six TDs...ArenaBowl XXX MVP WR Darius Prince didn't look to miss a beat in his first game of 2018 as he hauled in 12 catches for 112 yards and three TDs...WRs Darius Reynolds and Shaun Kauleinamoku were also targets for Raudabaugh in Week 1...The duo recorded nine receptions for 111 yards and three TDs...Soul DB Torez Jones proved to be a force on defense against the Empire last week...The second-year veteran recorded 5.5 total tackles, a fumble recovery, two pass breakups, and returned an interception for 18 yards...Jones' performance earned him the honor of being named the Defensive Player of the Week.
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